Boys Lacrosse: Souderton tops Lansdale Catholic in overtime

FRANCONIA TWP — Tyler MacDougall scored 52 seconds into overtime to give Souderton Area a 6-5 win over Lansdale Catholic in a non-league contest played on a cold, blustery Saturday afternoon on the turf at Souderton.

The Crusaders had rallied from a 5-1 deficit to tie the game at five apiece when Dan McMenamin scored his second goal of the day with just 33 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

But Souderton got control of the ball early in OT and MacDougall did the rest.

“Our other attacker that cleared through took his man with him so I had room there,” MacDougall said. “I just came around, got extended along the goal line and turned the shot.”

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It was MacDougall’s third and most thrilling goal of the contest, and it lifted Big Red to a 2-0 start on the season.

“It was exciting. It’s always a big rivalry between us and Lansdale Catholic — a lot of these guys played together all through the youth leagues,” said Big Red coach Todd Pettit. “There was a lot of emotion in that game and it was the team that held out the longest that got the last goal. Tyler, one of our seniors, came through in the clutch. He’s a go-to guy and that’s one of the reasons we sealed the deal.”

MacDougall helped Big Red recover from a sluggish start to take control in the second quarter. In a span of three minutes, Cameron Trick, MacDougall and Colin Asbury all scored for the Indians to put them on top 3-1 at halftime.

The margin grew to 5-1 when Tyler Huggins and MacDougall added goals in the third, but LC drew even by the end of regulation.

“It was an emotional swing, definitely, at the end,” MacDougall said. “They got the momentum, started putting goals in, and we had a couple breakdowns on offense and defense and kind of lost our composure there. But we picked it back up in overtime and luckily we were able to come out successful.”

After McMenamin tied it for the Crusaders, LC had one last offensive possession before the end of regulation but Souderton was able to hold on. The Crusaders didn’t get the win in their season opener but were impressive in several areas.

LC had a 1-0 lead going into the second quarter, thanks to a tough zone defense that gave Big Red some trouble, and the offense had some punch to it, with two goals each by Pete White and McMenamin leading the way.

“It was a lot of fun. The guys played tough,” LC first-year head coach Sean Gracey said. “The guys stepped up and showed their character. And we have 21 seniors on this team, and I think the effort that they put in shows. It was a big step forward for us and I think there’s a lot left in these guys.”